Research Proposal

Investigating SLA –Spring 2016

I. Title

Spanish native speakers, the perception and assimilation of Australian English

vowel sounds.

II. Introduction

During the last years a huge number of Spanish speakers have arrived to Australia.
Consequently, the Australian Bureau Statistics (2013) reports that 0.6% over the
total population speaks Spanish at home rather than English. However, most of
those migrants have learnt English up to different levels in order to cope with daily
routines. Furthermore, it can be said that it will depend on various linguistics as
well as non-linguistics factors how they will perceive, understand and produce the
target language (Cook, 2008; Colantoni, Steele & Escudero, 2015). Supporting the
latter idea, previous researches have indicated that there are various ways in
which learners can develop their perception and production of L2 (Mayr &
Escudero, 2010). Similarly, Escudero and Chládková (2010) have explained
through two approaches how the cross-language perception influences the
acquisition of L2. The two models that were used to analyse these differences are
the Perceptual Assimilation Model (PAM) which basically refers to the adaptation
to the L2 phonemes into the vowel inventory of the L1 (Colantoni, et al., 2015).
Secondly, the Second Language Perception Model (L2LP) which tries to explain
how the learner’s L1 influences the process of learning L2 (Colantoni, et al., 2015).

In what follows, this study attempt to investigate how adults and young learners of
English assimilate and perceive the differences that can be found between
Spanish vowels inventory (Morrison & Escudero, 2007) and Australian English
vowels (Elvin, Williams & Escudero, 2016; Cox & Palethorpe, 2007). The
predictions of this study are expected to be answered by the L2LP or PAM or both.
 These predictions are:

- The listeners who learnt English at an older age would find more difficult to
distinguish between /i:/-/I/. However, the differences between /ɐ/,/æ/ and /ɐː/
would be easier to perceive.
- The listeners who learnt English at a younger age would not have difficulties to
distinguish between /i:/-/I/ and /ɐ/,/æ/ and /ɐː/.
- All listeners would assimilate AusE vowel sounds /i:/-/I/ into /i/ Spanish vowel
sound while AusE /ɐ/-/ɐː/ into /a/ Spanish sound. Lastly, AusE /æ/ would be
similar to /e/ Spanish sound.

III. Research Question

In respect to the two theories that will be reviewed to explain the findings of this
experiment, PAM and L2LP, this study aims at investigating the differences, if there
is any, in the perception and assimilation of AusE vowels sounds between two
native Spanish speakers who arrived to Australia and learn English at a younger
age and other two who did it at a later age. In what follows, the questions bellow
will be answered:

- How do native Spanish listeners’ perceive and assimilate AusE vowel sounds

/ɐ, æ, ɐː, i:, I/?

- Is it difficult for them to perceive the difference, mainly in length, between those
vowel sounds?
IV. Methodology

5.1. Listeners/participants
The listeners are a group of 4 voluntary Spanish speakers from Chile. Two of them
are aged 25 and the other two 45. They have lived in Australia from more than 10
years. The two youngest arrived when they were 12 and the other two when they
were in their late twenties. All participants learnt English after arriving to Australia,
the two youngest attended Australian schools from year 7. On the other hand, the
other two studied General English courses from pre-intermediate to advance level.

5.2. description of sounds

The listeners will be exposed to 5 AusE monophthongs /ɐ, æ, ɐː, i:, I/ in the context
of /bVp/ and /fVf/ (Elvin, William & Escudero 2016). Additionally, they will listen to
3 Spanish vowel sounds /i,e,a,/ (Escudero & Chládková, 2010). All vowel sounds
will be computer synthesised and displayed by the Praat program (Boersma &
Weenink,1992).

Task

The task will take place in the Ingleburn community library. The English tokens will
be presented by using headphones at a reasonable hearing level and they will be
physically represented on a computer screen. The first task will be to identify the
AusE vowel sounds with one of the words (written in English) which will be
represented on the computer screen. The words will be hid, heed, hard, head,
hear. The second part will be an assimilation task, in which the participants will be
asked to listen the same AusE vowels and match them with one of the Spanish
words that will be displayed on the computer screen. Both activities will be a
multiple choice task. Each token will be listened 10 times in order to enhance the
statistical reliability. Furthermore, participants will have a 10 min break between
task one and two and it is estimated that the whole experiment will last 35 mins.
 V. References

Boersma, P. & Weenink, D. (1996). Praat: doing phonetics by computer. Amsterdam:

Instituut voor Fonetische Wetenschappen.

Colantoni, L., Steele, J., & Escudero Neyra, P.(2015) Second language speech. UK:
Cambridge.

Cook, V. (2008). Second language learning and language teaching. London: Hodder
Education.

Cox, F. & Palethorpe, S. (2007). Australian English. Journal of the international phonetic
association,37(03). http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025100307003192

Elvin, J., Williams, D., & Escudero, P. (2016). Dynamic acoustic properties of
monophthongs and diphthongs in Western Sydney Australian English. The journal
of the acoustical society of America, 140(1), 576-581.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.4952387

Escudero, P. & Chládková, K. (2010). Spanish listeners’ perception of American and

Southern British English vowels. The Journal Of The Acoustical Society Of
America, 128(5), EL254. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.3488794

Mayr, R. & Escudero, P. (2010). Explaining individual variation in L2 perception:

rounded vowels in English learners of German. Bilingualism, 13(03), 279-297.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1366728909990022
Morrison, G.S., & Escudero, P. (2007). A cross-dialect comparison of Peninsula-and-
Peruvian-Spanish vowels.

Reflecting a Nation: Stories from the 2011 Census, 2012–2013. (2016). Abs.gov.au.
Retrieved 28 Ausgust 2016, from
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2071.0main+features902012-
2013